


Our CD Player

by GreenforTea



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Kind of made stuff up, Minor Violence, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 21:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4194945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenforTea/pseuds/GreenforTea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate ending where the steel beam doesn't collapse and Riley and Ellie make it out unscathed. They find a CD player and have a tender moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our CD Player

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [TLoU - You have shit taste in music.](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/122682) by fortheloveofpizza. 



> So, I finally decided to upload one of my oldest fanfics that's still kind of recent. Recent because I started it about a couple years ago and just finished it today. That being said, I didn't bother to refresh my memory on Riley and Ellie's backstory with the military camp/school thing whatever. So if things don't add up or make sense--that's why. To make matters worse I don't have a beta-reader so this is pretty raw stuff. I proofread it several times, but I most likely missed somethings (I suck when it comes to tenses). Anyway! I hope this is still an enjoyable read and I am completely open to constructive criticism. Just be nice. This is my first fan fiction. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters
> 
> Enjoy~!

It had to have been some stroke of magic that Riley was able to pull me up after the metal standing had collapsed under my weight. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I couldn’t keep my eyes off the small group of clickers that had gathered directly beneath me, their arms reaching up for my dangling feet as Riley slowly lifted me onto the ledge she stood on.

“Fuck, Ellie—God, why are you so heavy?”

My attention is brought back up to Riley’s wild amber eyes, the fear behind them was so clear I felt a small shiver run down my spine. When our gazes locked she was quick to hide that fearful look with a smirk before yanking me up, nearly throwing me right off the small perch. I grabbed onto Riley’s arm the—other arm swinging wildly for balance. Once I’m steady I glared at her, giving a swift punch to her shoulder.

“Dumbass! Are you trying to fucking kill me? A warning next time you plan on going Hulk and nearly throwing me off a building, will ya?”

Riley just smiled smugly, shrugging her shoulders as she spun around and started walking along the ledge, probably looking for the safest way down. I followed behind her at a distance.

“Whatever happened to ‘thank you for saving my life Riley’? People these days just don’t have any manners.”

I scoffed loudly at this, stopping in my tracks. So what she saved me from a terrible death at the eager, twitchy hands of clickers? It was her fault for turning on the radio in the first place! If she hadn’t done that then none of this would be happening. But then, we wouldn’t have ever kissed either. I could feel my face burning with embarrassment just remembering the moment. And to think that I had initiated the whole thing _._ I swallowed dryly.

“Hey Riley…” She had already stopped to survey the distance between the building we were on and the roof of the building across from us, so she turned to look at me, her head tilled coyly to the side. “What’s with that face? About to confess your undying love for me?” She asked in a sickening sweet voice. I felt a smile tugging at my lips.

“Heh, okay maybe. I…thank you. For saving me back there. I thought I was a goner.” I said as I laughed awkwardly, avoiding Riley’s gaze.

I was being honest though. So much could have gone wrong back there, but if it wasn’t for Riley I would have probably been torn to shreds by now. I noticed that the coyness had left Riley’s face only to be replaced with a more sincere expression. She extended her hand towards me.

“Come here…” She said barely above a whisper.

I found myself holding my breath as I walked towards her, my eyes trained on her outstretched hand. When I’m finally standing in front of Riley she pulled me in close. I trembled at the heat radiating off her body. I looked into her eyes and found myself frowning slightly.

“What?” I asked.

Before I could really process any emotion behind her clouded eyes, Riley moves her face in close and gently pressed her lips against mine. It was a quick, chaste kiss. She pulled back before I could really get a good feel of her soft, full lips even though they were slightly chapped.

“I wanted to return the favor.” She said into the space separating our faces.

 I nodded my head, my ears and cheeks still burning as Riley smirked before turning away from me. Without any other spoken words she hopped onto the ledge across from us and I followed after her. I point far below us at an abandoned space that appeared to be free of the dreaded monsters capable of tearing our limbs off, and spilling our blood till we passed in what I believed to be the worst way possible. That, or turn into one of them. I’d rather bleed out.

“Down there looks safe enough. And there’s a huge trash bin! We could probably find some awesome stuff.” I suggested as Riley couches beside me and peered in the direction I was pointing in. I watched as she tilted her head to the side.

“Yeah, okay, let’s check it out. Beat ya down there!” She exclaimed with a competitive edge to her voice.

Before I could respond, Riley had hopped down onto the roof of a lower building, and was sliding down the side of the gutter.

“No fucking fair! You got a head start!” I yelled after her as I quickly searched for an alternate route. I hopped on a rusted metal fire escape ladder and glided right past Riley, giving her the finger as I slid down towards the makeshift finish line. But then the ladder ended and I was left with a several foot drop from the ground.  I spotted Riley and blew a raspberry at her before swinging off the ladder, sticking the landing, and bolting across the now horizontal building. It was the homestretch now. I ran down the length of the building while jumping over broken windows—my mind completely consumed by winning—when something hard runs right into me.

It took me a moment to realize Riley had somehow tripped in the process of jumping from the height she was at and bowling right into me. Our legs tangled and bodies wrapped painfully around each other as we tumbled down the building. My vision was completely occupied by Riley until the bile rose in my throat as we fell through the air for what felt like forever. Really it was only a few seconds until we crashed into a pile of empty boxes, spoiled food, and torn plastic bags. The smell accompanied by it all was worse than the spores released from the decaying bodies of the dead.

And yet, all I could see were those soft amber eyes scanning every inch of my face. The garage bin was just a problem lingering at the back of my mind.

“Sorry…” Riley whispered, her breath tickling my lips.

  _It’s okay_ is what I wanted to say, but all that came out was a strained groan from the horrible feeling of something jagged stabbing into my back.

“Shit! I’m sorry!” Riley apologized while attempting to pull herself up by pushing off the trash on either side of me. It completely backfired, only bringing her even closer to me—basically flush with my body. The pressure on my back only got worse causing me to cry out much against my will.

“Fuck Riley! You’re killing me!” I whined through gritted teeth.

 Riley pushed up again, this time successfully, and pulled me up with that hulk like strength she mustered before.

“Thank god!” I breathed out as I tried to rub the tender spot on my back that had become numb.

 “I told you I’m sorry! I have gravity working against me here. Am I really that heavy?” Riley asked sounding a little self-conscious.

 I shook my head a little too quickly while holding up my hands.

“No- it was just, something was poking me in the back. Pretty fucking hard too.”

 I turned around in the dumpster trying to locate it.

“It felt like a steel pipe or something.”

 I scanned through all the junk but the only thing that grabbed my attention was an old CD player: ear buds still attached.

“Hey! It’s a CD player! I’ve always wanted to try one of these things.”

 I picked it up, clutching the player in one hand and ear buds in the other.

“Woah- can I see it?” Riley asked suddenly appearing over my shoulder.

Ignoring the jump in my heart, I handed the device over to Riley whose eyes lit up with intrigue and excitement. She slipped one ear bud in an ear and handed me the remaining ear bud.

“Let’s listen together.” She said with a small smile. I nodded my head and slipped the ear bud in my ear. I watched as Riley fiddled with the obsolete piece of tech before I outstretched my hand.

“Lemme see. I know how it works.”

“I got it! Just give me a sec…”Riley turned it over in her hands again before she finally located the play button. She stuck out her tongue at me as she gave it a firm press. A gentle beat began to play followed by the smooth, velvety voice of woman. The crashing of thunder and rain could be heard in the background. It was surreally beautiful. The peaceful song gave a false sense of calm, as if there was nothing to fear. I could feel myself relax some, but the fact that we were still standing a dumpster killed the mood.

“I’ve heard this song before.” Riley suddenly said,“ I could have sworn it came on the radio one time. It sounds so familiar.”

“Yeah, it does…” I agreed. We stared at each other for a moment, the peaceful song coming to an end. The eerily silent world around us made itself known for a couple seconds before the next track played. It was significantly sadder. The beat reminded me of something you’d hear at a coffee house, and people would’ve snapped instead of clapped.

“We should keep going.” I finally stated, popping the ear bud out of my ear. I tossed it at Riley, who removed hers too, and wrapped the cord around the CD player. She tucked it into the pocket of her tattered jean jacket.

“Right, let’s go then Commander Ellie.” Riley said it smugly but had a smile on her face. I started climbing over the mounds of trash and Riley followed my lead.

 

* * *

 

My heart was pounding in my chest. We were running as fast as we could, Riley several paces in front of me. There was no point looking back: I could hear the garbled cries of the clickers hot on our trail. There had to be at least ten of them, and their screams just alerted others on our whereabouts. This was it. We were probably going to die here. All the buildings we passed were toppled over, bordered up, or trashed with no hope of providing us shelter. We were just gonna keep running until our hearts gave out.

But just as I thought that…the world slows down.

I could see Riley running and looking over her shoulder. She flashed her confident smile but then she stumbled. She’d lost her balance and collided with the unforgiving pavement. I chocked back a sob as she slid across the ground, her body rolling, tumbling, as it was cut up by broken glass and debris. Her clothes are shredded—exposed flesh ravaged. She kept rolling, bleeding, until she finally came to a stop. I didn’t have time to scream out her name, I just sped up until I was standing over her. I didn’t want to take in the sight of all the blood, and how badly her face was cut up. I just pulled her arms over my shoulders and tried my damnedest to wrap her legs around my waist.

“J…just leave me…” She managed to mumble the words into my ear. The shrieks of clickers only seemed to grow nearer and nearer.

“Fuck no! Either we both make it or we both die!” I yelled, just realizing that tears had started pouring from my eyes. But there was no way I was going to leave her here to die.

 “Hold on.” I said and Riley weakly tightened her grip around my neck. I hopped a little to push her higher and more comfortably over my shoulders before I started sprinting towards the nearest building. It didn’t matter how damaged it was, as long as it had a roof. At least that way I could block the roof access and we could hide until the clickers die down. I kicked in the door and quickly scanned the area. It was quiet. Still. The building was rather small: a simple one story shop with rows of antiques and collectables behind glass cases. Everything appeared untouched by the terror that lay outside. I tapped the door closed with the back of my heel and let Riley fall to floor.  She mumbled something incoherent as she slouched against the wall, her bruised face beginning to swell.

“Just give me a minute.” I said as I kneeled in front of her. I ran my fingers tentatively along the fullness of her cheeks before I hesitated. Riley made another sound—a mix between a chuckle and a hum—before she met my eyes.

“I’m not dying, El. Do what you gotta do.”

I nodded and drew back my hand. “R-right. Just sit here. Don’t move.”

 Ignoring the sarcastic faces Riley was making, I stood back up and started scoping out the area. It seemed safe enough to camp the night. I walked around the cash wrap and checked if anything hid behind it. There was nothing important. Just an over turned stool and some cash scattered on the ground. It looked like someone was in a rush to abandon the place, yet left all the money.

“I think we’re pretty safe here.” I said aloud as I made my way back to Riley.

 When she didn’t say anything I rushed towards her, nearly knocking my hip on the jagged corners of the display cases. When I could finally see her, she was slouched forward; her head dangled like a wilting flower. _Was she dead?_ The thought torn through my mind as I collapsed in front of Riley. Just when I thought my heart was about to quit, I caught a glimpse of the white cord dangling from her ears. Headphones. Riley’s eyes fluttered open when she felt my hand land on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong--” She pulled the headphones out of her ears. “A-are you crying?”

“What do you think?! Idiot! I-I thought you were dead!” I sputtered as I rubbed my eyes before the tears started to fall.  Riley grabbed and pulled my wrists down.

“I’m not going to leave you again.” She said firmly, squeezing my wrists. The orange glow of the setting sun shone through the windows that framed the door. I watched as our shadows melted into one being that stretched across the floor. It reminded me of a time where it was just my shadow. Riley was gone. I was alone.

“I don’t believe you.” I let the words fall from my mouth. She looked so pitiful with her right eye engorged like a ripe plum. Dried blood caked her bottom lip that quivered as if she wanted to say something. But she didn’t. She let her head drop back against door and closed her eyes. The door creaked under the sudden weight.

“Sorry.”

“…What?” I turned towards Riley, leaning in slightly.

“I’m…sorry…” She finally looked at me with tears streaming down her face. “I should have told you—I didn’t know what was going to happen! I didn’t know _that_ was going to happen…” She sighed wistfully and rolled the headphone buds between her fingers. What she was saying was starting to make sense. The bond we had was strong back then, during military camp. We were always together. We spared together. Had lunches together. Sometimes even slept in the same bed. But then one night she was just gone.

“Why didn’t you—I don’t know—leave a note or something? It was like you vanished! Like you never existed. I was so confused because I thought we were friends…” I paused for a second. “…more than friends. Riley, where _did_ you go?

I could hear the hitch in her breath, as if she knew the question was coming and now she was cornered. “I…I can’t tell you.”

 “Right.” I muttered dejectedly.

“No really! I can’t tell you because I don’t want you to know. I’m trying to protect you. What happened to me was fucked up.” She started sobbing but kept pushing the words out. “I don’t w-want to tell you because then I’ll remember…it was painful Ellie…please don’t make me say it out loud.” She winced when tears flowed into open cuts. Guilt made me lean over and to wipe a tear away with my thumb. When she looked into my eyes, hers bloodshot and puffy, my heart still managed to skip a beat.  

“Screw it then.” I said. “I’m just happy you’re back.”

Her eyes started to water again but she still smiled. I took the CD player from her lap and pressed the rewind button.

“Let’s just pretend we’re back at military camp.” I said, handing her an ear bud and pushing the other into my ear. “Close your eyes.”

 Riley’s smile remained fixed on her face as she relaxed and closed her eyes. I pressed the play button and rested my head on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath of Riley’s familiar scent I closed my eyes. It was just like we were back in our old dorm. I held Riley’s hand, intertwining our fingers together and smiled.

Just like old times.

 


End file.
